After The Ball
- CHARLES K. HARRIS
HOW'M I'M DOIN  -  DON REDMAN & MAE QUESTEL
AFTER THE BALL    (SCREEN SONGS)    1929
Charles K. Harris' 1891 classic waltz After The Ball was the first hit song in America. At the time, a hit was measured by the sales of sheet music, and this song was the first song to sell a million copies - it ultimately sold 5 million copies. It was Tin Pan Alley's all-time bestseller, and some have said the song gave birth to Tin Pan Alley. The song's immense success is also is considered to have sparked the commercial exploitation of popular music. Originally an amateur minstrel tune, the song became popular after Chicago's 1893 World's Fair where it was famously performed regularly by John Philip Soussa. It is also well-known from the musical Show Boat, which was originally produced in 1927, and the song was used to represent the music of the 1890's. The song has appeared in numerous movies and shows, and it has been recorded hundreds of times, including popular parody versions. The song was also used as the basis for a 1929 installment of the Screen Songs series. The film was unique to the series in that the Bouncing Ball segment features music with no voice-over. Usually a singing voice leads and encourages the audience to sing along, however it apparently seemed unnecessary with this well known ballad. Also unique is that the film is dedicated to the songwriter - Charles K. Harris - who appears in an illustration. The timeless heartache tune tells the story of a old man who never married, who is explaining to his niece why - he had seen his lover kiss another man so he had left her, only to find out ages later - and after her death - that the man she kissed that consequential night was simply her brother.
1924

CHARLES
​K. HARRIS
1893

GEORGE
​J. GASKIN
1925

INTER-
NATIONAL
NOVELTY
​ORCHESTRA
19??

THE
GUARDSMEN
QUARTET
​
1943

BROR KALLES
KAPEL &
POVL WOLDIKE
19??

DARBY &
​TARLTON
19??

HELEN
​TRAUBEL
1951

SHOWBOAT
1959

JULIE
​LONDON
1963

NAT KING
COLE
1964

THE BLUE
​SKY BOYS
1966

from
SHOW BOAT
19??

from
SHOW BOAT
​(film)
19??

BEATRICE
KAY
1973

JOHN
FAHEY
1987

JOAN MORRIS
& WILLIAM
​BOLCOM
1992

FRANCES
​BLACK
1999

FOSTER
​& ALLEN
1989

SHOWBOAT
(PBS VERSION)
2016

CAITLIN
2010

CAROUSEL
​MUSIC


KARAOKE
AFTER THE BALL

1ST VERSE
ONCE A YOUNG MAIDEN, CLIMBED AN OLD MAN'S KNEE
BEGGED FOR A STORY, DO UNCLE PLEASE
WHY ARE YOU SINGLE, WHY LIVE ALONE
HAVE YOU NO BABIES, HAVE YOU NO HOME
I HAD A SWEETHEART, YEARS, YEARS AGO
WHERE IS SHE NOW PET, YOU WILL SOON KNOW
LIST TO MY STORY, I'LL TELL IT ALL
A BELIEVED HER FAITHLESS, AFTER THE BALL

(CHORUS)
AFTER THE BALL IS OVER, AFTER THE BREAK OF MORN
AFTER THE DANCERS LEAVING, AFTER THE STARS ARE GONE
MANY A HEART IS ACHING, IF YOU COULD READ THEM ALL
MANY THE HOPES THAT HAVE VANISHED, AFTER THE BALL

(2ND VERSE)
BRIGHT LIGHTS WERE GLEAMING, IN THE GRAND BALLROOM
SOFTLY THE MUSIC, PLAYING SWEET TUNES
THERE CAME MY SWEETHEART, MY LOVE MY OWN
I WISH SOME WATER, LEAVE ME ALONE
WHEN I RETURNED DEAR, THERE STOOD A MAN
KISSING MY SWEETHEART, AS LOVERS CAN
DOWN FELL THE GLASS PET, BROKEN THAT'S ALL
JUST AS MY HEART WAS, AFTER THE BALL

(REPEAT CHORUS)

(3RD VERSE)
LONG YEARS HAVE PASSED CHILD, I HAVE NEVER WED
TRUE TO MY LOST LOVE, THO' SHE IS DEAD
SHE TRIED TO TELL ME, TRIED TO EXPLAIN
I WOULD NOT LISTEN,PLEADINGS WERE VAIN
ONE DAY A LETTER, CAME FROM THAT MAN
HE WAS HER BROTHER, THE LETTER RAN
THAT'S WHY I'M LONELY, NO HOME AT ALL
I BROKE HER HEART PET, AFTER THE BALL

(REPEAT CHORUS)
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